New Year's Eve College Bowl Play of the Day: Liberty Bowl

I love Vandy giving just 2.5 in the 2011 Liberty Bowl.

Vandy has been in every game this year with the exception of against Alabama.  Their 6-6 record should be better but I expect them to show well against a Cincinnati team that is prone to giving up points in bunches.

Look for a quick start from Vandy and then they will close it out, winning by 10.

Take Vandy and give the points.  Happy New Year's Eve!

College Football Bowl Play of the Day: Pinstripe Bowl

Where else would a bowl game between Iowa State and Rutgers be played other than Yankee Stadium in New York?

It's the Pinstripe Bowl and on paper it looks like a good game.

Rutgers comes into the game 8-4 and Iowa St. 6-6, so you might think Rutgers would be an overwhelming favorite.  Not the case.  The Cyclones have played one of the toughest schedules in the country and have logged wins over the likes of Iowa and Oklahoma State.

Rutgers has beaten South Florida and Cincinnati, but they might not have the offense to stay with ISU. 

The game is a "Pick" or Iowa State is getting 1 point, which means it's a pick.  Take Iowa State as they will win by a TD.

Go Cyclones!

New Island Appears in Red Sea

A mysterious new island has appeared in the Red Sea.

The island was created by an eruption that occurred in the Red Sea earlier this month. It is made of loose volcanic debris from the eruption, so it may not stick around long.

According to news reports, fishermen witnessed lava fountains and spouts reaching up to 90 feet tall on Dec. 19, which is probably the day the eruption began, said Erik Klemetti, a volcanologist at Denison University in Granville, Ohio.

This "before" picture from Oct. 24, 2007, shows an area of the Red Sea with open water where the new island now sits.

Ash plumes were seen emanating from the spot Dec. 20 and Dec. 22 by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, or MODIS, on NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites. The Ozone Monitoring Instrument on NASA's Aura satellite detected elevated levels of sulfur dioxide, further indicating an eruption. By Dec. 23, what looked like a new island had appeared in the Red Sea off the west coast of Yemen.

"I am surprised about how quickly the island has grown," Klemetti, who writes Wired's Eruptions Blog, told OurAmazingPlanet.

The volcanic activity occurred along the Zubair Group, a collection of small islands that run in a roughly northwest-southeast line. The islands rise from a shield volcano (a kind of volcano built from fluid lava flows) and poke above the sea surface.

Scientists will keep a close eye on the new island to see if it has staying power.

Newly emerging islands aren't unheard of. Other newly emerged islands include Surtsey off of Iceland, Anak Krakatau in the caldera of Krakatoa in Indonesia, and Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai in Tonga.

College Football Bowl Play of the Day: Alamo Bowl

Washington and Baylor today in the Alamo Bowl.  Baylor is giving 9.5.

Baylor is led by the Heisman Trophy winner in Robert Griffin III.

Washington is the loser of 3 of 4 coming into this game played in San Antonio.

Baylor is on a five game win streak and is putting up some points.  Expect more of the same this afternoon at the Alamodome. 

The total on this game is 79, and I expect it to go over, mainly due to Baylor.

Take RG3 or RGIII and take the victory.

Snakes and More on a Plane

A man from the Czech Republic could face 10 years in prison after Buenos Aires airport screeners found 247 living snakes and reptiles, including poisonous vipers in a suitcase he tried to check on a flight to Madrid, Agence France-Presse says.

The "organic substances moving inside" were packed in clear plastic containers, workers at the Iberia Airlines desk at Ezeiza Airport discovered after the bag was X-rayed, AFP says, citing local media. Some are reported to be extremely rare and protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.

Among the writhing cargo were South American pit vipers, yararas and several young boas. Two snakes were dead, and authorities said more would have died from lack of oxygen had they been loaded onto the plane.

Karel Abelovsky, 51, was charged with attempted smuggling the animals.

The incident happened Dec. 7 but was just reported.